What if it's an hour? What if it's a day or two?
What if 15 minutes of fame turn into several repetitive, unbearable, agonizing weeks?
Well then, of course, you'd have the case of Charlie Sheen.
In case you haven't already heard, the omnipresent Sheen crashed Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night, barging onto the stage to interrupt a perfectly good interview between host Jimmy Kimmel and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. In a series of loud, boorish, obnoxious stunts perpetrated by the washed-up actor, this is the latest, and perhaps most obnoxious yet.
Let's get something straight: Mark Cuban is a very interesting guy in his own right. The zillionaire was appearing on Kimmel mainly to plug his appearance on Shark Tank, an ABC reality show, but he also touched on a few aspects of his contributions to sports. He mentioned that the Mavs had clinched a playoff berth for the 11th year in a row, he talked about his personal email account that he opens to fans and season ticketholders, and he even got into his negotiations to buy the Mets.
"It'd be a cool idea," Cuban told Kimmel. "But I don't think it's going to happen. It would require writing an $800 million check. Call me crazy, but when I write an $800 million check, I want someone to kiss my ass. I don't want to have to beg and grovel to write that check."
This is good stuff. It's more than enough to carry an appearance on Kimmel's show. I'd be perfectly happy to sit for 10 minutes and listen to one of the world's richest men talk about a nine-figure negotiation. I don't need anything more.
But then, enter Sheen from stage right.
Go ahead — watch the debacle for yourself. After about five seconds, it's pretty clear that Sheen's stolen the show, and there's no giving it back. He's making a complete fool of himself, and the audience is loving it — he's shouting obscenities, he's throwing T-shirts into the crowd, and he's just generally letting his egomaniacal personality take over.
If you're into that kind of thing, then so be it. But if you've got half a brain, how can you not find this disgraceful?
How much longer can America possibly stay interested in this guy? Let's be honest — he's a screwup. He's a drug addict, he's unemployed, he's divorced, and police had to take his children away. His ex-wife — the third one, that is — thinks he's insane and has issued a restraining order against him.
This is what it takes to be a cult hero in our society today?
I think not.
Maybe next time Charlie Sheen tries to crash the party, we can all just ignore him. We'd all be better off that way.
Screen grab courtesy of YouTube
